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February 03, 2005
Chlorinate or Not to Chlorinate
Seems it is now more than the scientific community, but now consumers are voicing their concerns about chlorination of their drinking water.
According to the The Olympian, Lacey, WA, a community of some 50,000, has been told that their drinking water. The City Council recently agreed to permanently disinfect the system following a 16-month effort to kill bacteria in the water that are generally harmless but might indicate the presence of dangerous bacteria.
Questions concerning the health risks of chlorination have been raised by some of Lacey’s residents. The scientific evidence to back up such concerns, however, is limited, and based on high exposure to chlorination's byproducts.
Some studies suggest drinking chlorinated water increases the risk of cancer, while other studies show no increased risk, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
For now, the EPA doesn't think there is enough evidence to state conclusively that drinking chlorinated water causes health risks.
While the concerns are based on the byproducts, trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, public water systems now must test for these byproducts four times a year.
All alternative disinfection methods apparently produce some undesirable byproducts. The residents of Lacey should find some solace in the long term track record of the use of Chlorine in municipal water systems.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at February 3, 2005 11:01 PM
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